Upon learning the news that I was leaving the Patriot for the Cape Cod Commission, a long-time acquaintance sent the following: “You must like root canal work.” Under the subject line “Going over to the dark side,” another wrote simply, “Fink!”

“Despised,” “loathed” and other unflattering characterizations of the Commission have been contained in otherwise upbeat messages from well-wishers.

None of this is news to me. I was in the room when then-Gov. Mike Dukakis signed the Act at Barnstable First District Court. I was covering supporters at the Barnstable Tavern the night voters Cape-wide approved the funding mechanism for the Commission. I’ve covered the fits and starts of secession movements in Barnstable and elsewhere and the various reconfigurations and reforms along the way.

I know what I’m getting into, and I think I can help.

All things happen for a reason. There was a reason a reporter slot opened in my home town just as I was getting out of school. There’s a reason an interview with the now defunct Yarmouth Sun fell through the same day I met and was hired by Patriot owner Barbara Williams. And there’s a reason this is the right time for me and the Patriot to move on.

When I joined the paper in 1989, I was employee #7. Now the Patriot is part of News Corp. and soon is likely to be spun into something else. The timing of a possible sale of the Dow Jones Local Media Group and my decision is purely coincidental.

I have two colleagues – friends – with whom I’ve worked for 22 years or more, Lucinda Harrison (in place when I arrived) and Barbara Hennigan (hired 22 years ago this month). We’ve watched each other’s children be born and grow up, laughed, fought, struggled, succeeded and maintained the connection to the paper the Patriot was when Barbara Williams hired us: local, reflective of the community and a little feisty.

I’ve had the good fortune to work with more good and talented people at the paper than I deserve – Rob and Toni Sennott, Tanya Ohanian, John Watters, Mark Mumford, Jason Wiseman, David Pratt, Sue Oslund, Karen Bryant, Tom Curran, Janine Ganser, David Curran, Chris Price, Kristen vonHentschel, Heather Wysocki, Jeff Blanchard, Frank Gibson, Fred Bodensiek, Melissa Marchand, Brenda Crago, Frank Finn, Barbara Snow, Melora North, and so many more. Those in the staff box below represent the longest serving and most stable staff in my time at the paper. There’s a reason for that, and I thank each and every one of them.

What the future holds for the newspaper industry remains to be seen, but there will always be a need for locally-produced, locally consumed news. I’m proud that when readers get the paper, greater than 95 percent of what they read was produced by or for us. There is no wire service covering Barnstable, so if we want it in our pages, we need to think about how to get it ourselves.

No one knows or does that better than Ed Maroney. The truth is, if the situation had been reversed and Ed chose to leave, I’d be lost. No one understands all he does to keep these pages filled. The paper’s been lucky to have him for the past 13 years (15 total including a 1992-’94 stint), and I’ve been fortunate to call him a friend through that time.

There are people who don’t care for me or the paper, some of whom I carry with me every day as reminders of how to be better. It’s part of the gig, and anyone working in the interests of the community needs to be open to criticism and dissenting views. It’s why we take pokes at public officials and policies when we disagree. It’s why we publish letters and columns challenging our positions and ourselves.

It’s what newspapers do and what citizens should do more of.

As friends and colleagues learned that I was leaving, the question always came, “What will they do without you?” The easiest answer is, “Continue.” It is what this paper has done for going on 183 years and will do for many more to come. It’s been my great fortune to guide it for 21 years.

I love the paper, I love the business, and I love being a part of this community. Those things will remain true.

Thank you to all who have supported me, educated me, and corrected me over the years. It’s been an honor to edit your newspaper.

David Still II

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